"Is it possible that I'm the only living person left in this entire world?"

Walking along the deserted street, Phoebe couldn't shake this feeling.

"No. It's just that everyone who didn't hide is dead. There should still be survivors who managed to evade the abnormal incidents. Also, that security guard earlier was clearly connected to the previous abnormal events. He likely still has accomplices."

Lin Ye felt this world was somewhat strange, but he couldn't pinpoint the source of this feeling.

"That's... somewhat reassuring."

Even encountering an enemy was more comforting to Phoebe than walking alone on a completely empty street. If Lin Ye hadn't been talking to her, she probably would have long since run into the nearby residential complex to search for other people.

"Something seems to be approaching from ahead. It's likely the survivors you were hoping for."

Lin Ye suddenly spoke.

"Really?"

Phoebe squinted her eyes to look forward. Dozens of thin, frail silhouettes were running down the road. They looked extremely panicked. Upon seeing Phoebe, their faces lit up with joy, and they urgently rushed toward her.

They were like a horde of conscious zombies.

Phoebe turned and ran. Right now, she just wanted to punch her past self from a few seconds ago. What was so bad about being alone?

"Your stamina is almost completely depleted. If you keep running, handing your body over to me later will be useless anyway."

If he weren't afraid of getting dragged into the mess, Lin Ye would have loved to let Phoebe have a 'close encounter' with these survivors.

"You're up!"

Phoebe skillfully handed over control of her body to Lin Ye.

Lin Ye stopped running, turned around, and looked at those 'zombies'. Behind them, a giant baby, nearly the size of a bus, was rapidly crawling along the road. Dozens of gray umbilical cords grew from the baby's body, connecting to the backs of those survivors.

The survivors' bodies were withered and emaciated, as if all their contents had been sucked dry.

Lin Ye drew the bone dagger and began cutting down the approaching 'zombies'. These crippled individuals had no ability to resist Lin Ye, but the dangerous part was the umbilical cords inserted into the survivors' bodies.

Those cords moved with agility inside the survivors, slithering out from various angles, attempting to pierce into Lin Ye's body.

Lin Ye didn't approach the giant baby. Instead, he methodically dealt with the gray umbilical cords inside each survivor, cutting off the cord tips, leaving only smooth, severed ends.

As for the survivors themselves, they were utterly insignificant.

Before long, Lin Ye had dealt with all the surrounding umbilical cords, but Phoebe's stamina was also completely exhausted now.

Even for Lin Ye, there was no way to run away using a body that had run out of stamina in this situation.

"Aren't you going to deal with that baby?"

Only after Lin Ye stopped did Phoebe dare to speak.

"...You want to deal with it? Is this the maternal instinct of women?"

Lin Ye couldn't help but remark.

"That's not what I meant! I meant, aren't we going to attack that monster?"

Phoebe was in no position to care about a baby dozens of times her size.

"Attack? With this weak chicken body of yours? I'm just a laborer, not an omnipotent deity."

Lin Ye had absolutely no intention of approaching that giant infant.

After all the umbilical cords were dealt with, the giant baby turned around and crawled away. Without the cords, it couldn't absorb nutrients, and thus lost any reason to attack Phoebe.

"Ah, it crawled away."

Regaining control of her body, Phoebe looked at the corpses littering the ground and collapsed weakly onto the pavement.

The previous fight had completely drained her stamina. Now, her entire body ached, and even moving a finger felt difficult.

"...I know you're exhausted, but now is not the time to rest."

Lin Ye suddenly spoke.

"Bravo! I never expected you to actually survive the giant baby's attack."

A woman wearing a white robe emerged from the shadows by the roadside. She looked abnormally excited, as if she had taken some strange drug.

"Is this the accomplice of that security guard you mentioned? What should I do? Hand my body over to you?"

Phoebe communicated with Lin Ye in her mind.

"Handing it over is useless. Your condition is too poor. Now we can only stall for time."

Lin Ye replied.

The woman carefully observed Phoebe's state. Seeing that Phoebe seemed genuinely exhausted, she finally approached.

"Who are you? What was that giant baby thing?"

Phoebe loudly demanded.

Right now, all she could do was question the other party.

"Like you, I am also a member of the real world. But I am luckier than you, having gained access to channels that understand the real world."

The woman looked at Phoebe excitedly, as if gazing at a rare treasure.

"Real world? What are you going to do to me?"

The woman's gaze made Phoebe very uncomfortable.

"Right now, we are within the real world. The real world is overwriting the false world. When dawn comes, everything will end. As for you, I will help you understand the real world and teach you how to survive within it."

The woman walked up to Phoebe and reached out, intending to touch Phoebe's forehead.

"I'll teach you about your mother!"

Phoebe ignored that right hand crawling with bulging veins. She used every last bit of her remaining strength to thrust the bone dagger hidden beneath her toward the woman's eye socket.

"How adorable."

The woman grabbed Phoebe's head with one hand, lifting her into the air. The bone dagger was knocked away by an invisible force.

"...Sorry."

Phoebe managed to utter the words with difficulty.

"Isn't begging for mercy a bit late now? Besides, I never intended to let you go. You will become an excellent creation of the real world, to be used by me."

The woman revealed a ferocious smile, her fanatical tone brimming with joy.

"No, she's apologizing to me. But actually, there's no need for her to apologize. I quite like that courage of hers to struggle in a hopeless situation. Even if she fails, it's just a matter of insufficient strength."

Lin Ye took over the body. He didn't break free from the woman's grip, still letting her hold his head.

He didn't like this, but he currently lacked the strength to break free.

"...What are you? This body is my prey!"

The woman stared at Lin Ye warily.

"I'm just a laborer. You don't need to concern yourself with matters about me. After all, it's meaningless now."

Lin Ye showed a kind smile, a hint of pity contained within it.

"What... are you... saying..."

The woman released Phoebe's head, but this wasn't due to a sudden burst of kindness. It was because she could no longer exert force with her fingers.

"What... did you do? What's... happening... to my... body?"

The woman collapsed onto the ground like a pile of mud. Even at this moment, she hadn't figured out what had actually happened.

"I just made some preparations in advance during the fight. After all, your accomplice had already done something similar before."

While dealing with those umbilical cords, Lin Ye used the faint spiritual energy contained in the cord tips to lay out mutation rune traps on the ground.

The runes on the ground were completely covered by the corpses of those survivors, so the woman hadn't noticed anything.